


Can You Teach Me How to Make A Love Potion?

by ATossForTheAce



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, I'll do my best on this, I'll tag characters and relationships as they appear, M/M, Magic AU, Magic au I guess?, Multi, Takumi can't do magic though, what do I even call this AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-18
Updated: 2016-05-18
Packaged: 2018-06-09 08:44:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6899080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ATossForTheAce/pseuds/ATossForTheAce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"If you're damn pride won't get out of the way, I won't help you, I'll do it for you. I want you to live, and you will. I don't care if I have to place it into effect myself, Takumi, you are not losing yourself. I'm not losing you."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Can You Teach Me How to Make A Love Potion?

**Author's Note:**

> I...I didn't know what to put in the summary I'm sorry.

There was shuffling coming from inside the shack, Leo stared at the building in confusion. It was a small building that had a farm of many plants, ranging what from he was sure was alyssum flowers to cloves to juniper berries hidden in bushes. This was an alchemist's cabin.  
  
"This is my brother's cottage," Ryoma began. Leo looked up at his brother's boyfriend in confusion. "He's going to help us with our lesson today. However, I do have a slight warning." Ryoma stared directly into his eyes, and it made Leo a tad bit uncomfortable, Ryoma's dark eyes staring threateningly into his.  
  
"My brother is sensitive about two things- the one thing I forbid you to mention is his lack of magic."  
  
"Lack of?" Leo tilted his head. Did Ryoma's brother have no magic at all? Was that possible?  
  
"He can only create Charms, most of the time he needs help. Do not mention it to him or bring it up at all." Ryoma sighed, staring up back at the cottage. "Takumi is immature, this I know, and he's stubborn and has a temper. However, it's not his fault he can't perform much magic. He was born with a Shadow cast over him."  
  
"A Shadow?"  
  
Ryoma nodded. "A Shadow is something that corrupts a child without warning or cure. Shadows heighten emotions, specifically negative ones. Some who are born with Shadows can turn out extremely happy, all the time. However, most do not. Takumi is aware of his, however, so he knows how to find small ways to combat it.  
  
Shadows prevent magical encounters, but since Takumi can combat his, he can still form Charms."  
  
Leo nodded. He had to be careful with Ryoma's brother, he supposed, but he was preparing himself for the worst. "So, what was the second thing he was sensitive of?"  
  
The corners of Ryoma's lips lifted into a small smile.  
  
"His height."  


* * *

  
  
The cottage was smaller on the inside.  
  
Leaves draped off of shelves, odd concoctions rested beside them in small, corked bottles labeled in a language he couldn't read. There was a plate of what he was sure was food on the table, though no one there to be found. There was a red ribbon resting by the plate, which he still wondered if it were food or ingredients for a potion or concoction or something.  
  
"Cover your ears," Ryoma instructed. "Takumi likely won't show up without a Command." Leo snickered.  
  
"You mean like what you need to use on books you keep losing?"  
  
"It can work on troublesome brothers too. Now, cover your ears."  
  
Leo covered his ears, muffling the loud shout that followed. Ryoma's voice rumbled like thunder when he used the Command. His voice was already loud, naturally he had a booming voice and personality, adding to the thunderous roar that basically escaped him.  
  
"Takumi!"  
  
When Leo uncovered his ears, he could hear a faint 'holy shit!' from another room, before hearing things crashing and a groan of pain. Minutes later, a boy with silver hair and amber eyes appeared before them, scowling while the left side of his robes were stained in a blue-purple liquid, and seemingly steaming.  
  
"You really don't have to do that every time, you know. There's a thing called, oh, you know, just calling for me! I'd been working on that thing for days, Ryoma!" The man growled. So this was Takumi. Not a very friendly appearance, Leo thought. Dark bags rested under his eyes, his face wrinkling in a scowl. When Takumi noticed him, his face went from scowling to surprised. "You brought your student?" He asked. Why was he confused?  
  
Ryoma nodded. "Yes, I was hoping you'd be willing to teach him how to do Curse Remedies. Would you?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Takumi nodded,striking a similar pose before cringing and holding out his left arm.  
  
"Just, let me go change first." He promised before disappearing into the hallway. Beside him, Ryoma hummed.  
  
"I wonder if he knew his hair was down."  
  
A loud yelp came from the hallway, followed by quick and thundering footsteps that disappeared down the hallway, followed by Ryoma's booming laughter.  


* * *

  
  
When Takumi returned, his hair was up, and instead of white robes, he wore simply a blue turtleneck that just reached his elbows and brown dress pants and gloves. In his hand, he carried two pairs of goggles. When he noticed Leo eyeing them, he shrugged.  
  
"Beginners always make mistakes."  
  
"I won't."  
  
"Yeah right. Everyone says that. Then you know what happens? They don't put on goggles and then their eyes melt out." Takumi pushed them against his chest. "Put. Them. On."  
  
Leo didn't know why his teacher's brother was so aggressive compared to his older brother. At first glance, it was impossible to tell that they were related at all. Then you could make small connections- light freckles that blended easily with skin, barely appearing even, and the same amber eyes. Give Takumi a few years maybe, and he could end up with a face similar to Ryoma's.  
  
Leo sighed, and put the goggles on reluctantly. Takumi nodded in approval before fixing his own on, ignoring the annoying hair that got stuck in it. He was used to it by now, honestly.  
  
Before Takumi said anything else, the Alchemist pulled a vile from his pocket, opened it, and drank the dark green substance inside. He shivered, turned and coughed aggressively into his arm before turning back to Leo.  
  
What was that all about?  
  
"Now, the first thing we'll do is a simple Reverse Curse potion. This one," He held up a vibrant pink-and-white flower, and exposed the inside of it to Leo. "Do you know what it is?" Leo reluctantly shook his head. Ryoma had taught him nothing about plants themselves. Takumi scoffed.  
  
"How can you expect to not make a mistake if you don't know simple plants?" He questioned, scratching under his eye in annoyance. Was it annoyance? Leo couldn't tell. Sighing, Takumi held it up to Leo's face. "It's called a few things, but the most common would be Lady's Slipper. The stem contains a sap that first helps protects the soul. So, go ahead and take yours, cut it open, and pour it into the bowl. Like this," Takumi, took the knife and cut right at the end of the stem before squeezing at the stem as Leo watched a small amount of the sap drip into the bowl.  
  
"There's never that much sap, so get as much as you can."  
  
Leo repeated Takumi's actions, looking up ever so often for Takumi's approval.  
  
"Alright, now, after that," Takumi grabbed a lump of moss from the pile of plants. "You're gonna squeeze all the water out of this and mix it in with the sap. I'll tell you when you're okay." Takumi handed the lump of moss to Leo , who began to squeeze the plant while cringing. Something told him this wasn't going to be his favorite lessons ever.  


* * *

  
  
"Alright! I think you have it this time!" Takumi exclaimed as Leo finished mashing the mistletoe in with everything else, giving the clear substance a milky murkish color. It was only his third attempted, the first one ended badly because he and Takumi got into an argument over whether or not Mimosa leaves were piousness when Leo knocked over his bowl, and the second had gone wrong when Takumi left to go get something and forgot to tell Leo to stop stirring. Takumi did take responsibility for that.  
  
"You can go ahead and stop now. It looks just about right." Takumi smiled at him, and Leo would be a liar if he said it wasn't attractive. But he lied to himself anyway. Takumi grabbed the small bowl and set it on the floor. He turned to Leo. "Do you know how to do any small curses?" He asked.  
  
"Yes, I know a handful." Takumi nodded in approval.  
  
"Good. Because the only way to know if you did it right is through testing."  
  
"Wait, what?" Leo asked, wondering who the subject would be. Takumi laughed, walking over to the opposite side of the room and opened a cage Leo hadn't noticed before. When Takumi stood back up, he was carrying a rat the size of a child in his arms.  
  
So that's why it smelled so foul.  
  
"This is a trained rat. When he feels the effects, he'll drink the concoction. So," He set the large rat on the floor. "Cast away."  
  
The rat was just standing there, staring up at Leo with beady eyes, blackberries that shone up at him. Leo cringed- he didn't like rodents that much.  
  
He muttered a small spell, one that would simply mess around with the rodent's digestive system a bit, call it revenge for the second concoction failure if this one doesn't work. Takumi would be the one cleaning it up anyway.  
  
The rodent squealed a repulsive squeak and rushed to the liquid, gave it a sniff and quickly began lapping it up. With good reason, Leo thought. If performed correctly, which he knew he did, it would take immediate affect and the rat shouldn't exactly have felt comfortable.  
  
"Well," Leo paused, a few seconds after the rat had slurped up the concoction, "I know I performed it correctly. So, I'm guessing...?"  
  
"But nothing's happening."  
  
"Isn't that supposed to happen? It's an anti-curse potion, after all..."  
  
"It's called a Reverse Curse potion for a reason. It should perform the opposite affect. Like, say you used one to, I don't know, make it hairier than it already is. In that case, the potion would shave all of it's hair off. Based on it's reaction, I'm guessing that's not what you used."  
  
"Nope."  
  
Soon, the rat backed off the liquid and gave what sounded like a burp before it's stomach seemed to expand, and Takumi grunted.  
  
"You were going to make it shit everywhere. Don't think I've never seen that one before." Takumi deadpanned, picking up the over sized rat before carefully placing it back into it's cage. "Well, you certainly made the potion correctly. So, I think it's time for dinner."  
  
Leo's stomach growled at the suggestion of food, and Takumi nodded. He suggested with his hand for Leo to follow him, slipping off his goggles, and leading Leo into what he was sure was the kitchen. Ryoma was already busy at work, and Takumi swiftly thanked his brother before Leo handed him his goggles.  
  
"Leo, would you mind setting the table for us while Takumi cleans the potions room?" Ryoma muttered a small Find spell before a few cabinets flew open, drawers sliding open to reveal the plates and silverware.  


* * *

  
"Goodnight, brother. Goodnight, Leo." Takumi muttered before reaching up on his toes to reach a purple liquid in a bottle. He uncapped it and swallowed it all, cringing at the taste. Leo had to wonder why he took all of these salves, did it have something to do with  the Shadow?  
  
As if reading his mind, when Takumi disappeared upstairs, Ryoma answered his unspoken question. "That one's just a Break Dream concoction. Takumi, most nights, gets horrible nightmares, so he takes those to help rid of them. Looks like he'll need to make more tomorrow."  
  
Ryoma waved with his hand. "Come on, the guest rooms are this way. While you and Takumi were in your lessons, I brought all of your luggage to your room."  
  
"Oh- Thank you, Ryoma."  
  
He was truly grateful that Ryoma had done what he had for him. The second he closed his door, he lit a candle and flopped on his bed. He'd learned quite a bit from Takumi, even if they just made one basic concoction. He'd learned what different things were used for, and how to apply them medically if they helped.  
  
Leo grunted. What he wanted right now was sleep.


End file.
